A sellout crowd of 42,662 was on hand in anticipation of the 500th running of the fabled Nationals Park presidents race, and the Nationals used the occasion to put a stop to all speculation about Teddy’s fate.

When the gates opened for the fourth inning race, Roosevelt took the field first, trailed only by Abe Lincoln. Teddy held a big lead through the home stretch, but George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were waiting there in ambush.

Washington got there first, leaving his feet to deliver a devastating head-to-head hit. If it were the NFL, the father of our country would have been issued a 3-game suspension. A chorus of boos rained down from the stands as Abe Lincoln crossed the finish line.

I was attending Nationals Park for the second time last Saturday, and I must say that I was not amused by the “Presidents Race”. To make President Roosevelt the butt of a shameless marketing joke is just plain wrong. President Roosevelt’s face is on Mt. Rushmore because he was one of our great presidents, one who was responsible for the establishment of our National Parks system. Young people at the game are being taught to see Teddy as a loser and a buffoon. I don’t believe that the popularity of your race would be diminished if he were allowed to win the occasional race. I’m sure that in Milwaukee (from whom you obviously ripped off the concept of the race) there is not a particular sausage that can never win the race.

A joke is a joke, but you have played this one out in your endless search for the almighty buck. Call it quits now and show our 26th president a little respect.